The 1986

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

was held on June 17, 1986.

Overview and aftermath

This draft holds the record for the most players (out of prospects chosen) who later debuted in the NBA, with 66.

Drug and health issues involving drafted players

There were various drug-related problems that plagued players in the 1986 NBA draft. Most notable was the death of highly touted Len Bias. Bias died less than two days after being selected second overall by the defending champion

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. His death was ruled an

overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended. Retrieved on September 20, 2014.

that resulted from taking the drug

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

. Other problems involving drugs hampered the careers of Chris Washburn, Roy Tarpley, and William Bedford.

Successful second-round players

While a number of first-round selections were unable to make an impact in the league, this draft did feature a number of talented second-round selections.

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forw ...

, who became one of the leading defenders and rebounders in NBA history, was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

in August 2011.

Mark Price William Mark Price (born February 15, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. The last coaching job he held was as head coach of the Charlotte 49ers men's basketball, Charlotte 49ers. As a four-time NBA All-Star and ...

, Kevin Duckworth, and Jeff Hornacek also went on to have successful careers, and each made the

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. Three others – Johnny Newman, Nate McMillan, and David Wingate – had long, productive careers as role players.

International draftees

This draft contained two exceptional international players, both of whom had shortened careers for unusual reasons. Third-round selection

Dražen Petrović Dražen Petrović (; 22 October 1964 – 7 June 1993) was a Yugoslav and Croatian professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he initially achieved success playing professional basketball in Europe in the 1980s with Cibona and Real Madri ...

was coming off an All-Star caliber fourth season when he was killed in an automobile accident in 1993. He has since been elected to both the Naismith Hall of Fame and the

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA in 1991. Originally built in ...

. The other, Arvydas Sabonis, was not permitted to play in the United States because of the dangerous political climate in the Soviet Union. He won two Olympic medals before his arrival in the NBA—a gold in 1988 with the

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, and a bronze in 1992 with

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. After the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

in 1991, Sabonis had a very successful career in Europe before finally joining the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

in 1995. Sabonis had lost much of his mobility by the time he joined the team because of a string of knee and

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injuries. He finished second in both the Sixth Man Award and Rookie of the Year voting; after the 1995–96 season, he won a second Olympic bronze medal with Lithuania. He played seven seasons with Portland before returning to his homeland of Lithuania where he finished his career. Sabonis entered the FIBA Hall in 2010 and the Naismith Hall in 2011.

Other draftee contributions to the game

This draft is also known for the number of players who made important contributions to the sport of basketball outside of the court. For example, Nate McMillan had a highly successful run with the Seattle SuperSonics as a player and then as head coach, and then spent seven seasons as head coach of the

Scott Skiles Scott Allen Skiles Sr. (born March 5, 1964) is an American former basketball coach and player. He coached the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic. A first-round draft pick out of Michigan State University, Skiles played ...

was the former coach of the

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and also the first coach to lead the

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to the playoffs in the post-

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era. Larry Krystkowiak, a former Bucks head coach, was hired in April 2011 as the new head coach at the

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. John Salley won four championship rings with three different NBA teams (

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and

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) before becoming one of the hosts of '' The Best Damn Sports Show Period'' on Fox Sports Network.

served as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech, a shooting consultant with Memphis (one season) and Atlanta (two seasons), a shooting coach for Golden State (one season), and in December 2011 was named Player Development Coach for the Orlando Magic. Jeff Hornacek would also be a full-time assistant head coach for the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

for two seasons before accepting a job as the head coach for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

in the

2013–14 NBA season The 2013–14 NBA season was the 68th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 29, 2013, with the Indiana Pacers hosting a game against the Orlando Magic followed by the 2012–13 NBA champions Miam ...

. In 2016, Jeff Hornacek became the head coach for the New York Knicks, and coached them until 2018. Pete Myers, selected in the sixth round as the 120th overall pick, was an assistant coach for the

from 2001 to 2010 and

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since 2011.

Jim Les James Alan Les (born August 18, 1963) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the UC Davis Aggies men's team. A former point guard, Les played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) after hi ...

, the 70th overall pick, was an assistant coach for the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs from 1999 to 2001 then was head coach at Bradley University from 2002 to 2011 and

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

since 2011. Jay Bilas, who was selected in the fifth round as the 108th overall pick but never played in the NBA, is an ESPN college basketball analyst.

Draft selections

* compensation for draft choices traded away by Ted Stepien

Notable undrafted players

These players who declared or were automatically eligible for the 1986 draft were not selected but played in the NBA.

Early entrants

College underclassmen

For the fourth year in a row and the eighth time in nine years, no college underclassman would withdraw their entry into the NBA draft. However, it would be the first time in NBA history that a player that qualified for the status of a "college underclassman" would be playing professional basketball overseas, as Cedric Henderson (who had previously played for the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

for a year before travelling to

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to play for the Simac Olimpia Milano) would qualify as an official entry there, expanding the list of official players there from eight to nine. Excluding him, however, the following

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

players successfully applied for early draft entrance. * William Bedford – C, Memphis (junior) * Walter Berry – F, St. John's (junior) * Michael Graham – F, Georgetown (freshman) * Jerald Hyatt – G,

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(junior) * Andre Morgan – G,

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(junior) * Chris Washburn – F/C, NC State (sophomore) * Dwayne Washington – Syracuse (junior) *

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

– F,

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

(sophomore)

Other eligible players

This year marked the first official year that a player that would not be considered a typical, proper "college underclassman" would qualify for entry in an NBA draft as an underclassman of sorts.

References

External links

SI.com's twenty-year retrospective on the 1986 NBA Draft
{{NBA on TBS

Draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

NBA draft

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